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Martin v. Commonwealth11/30/2001
ould not be punished for failing to recognize rights and obligations which it could not have known existed. However, the Supreme Court in Kelly specifically held that in 1980, the legislature intended to define the limits of the right of eminent domain and to establish the specific terms under which the condemning authority may exercise such power. The State's authority to take private property for public use derives from that statutory authority, and it must be strictly construed within the legislature's grant of authority.
Finally, the Cabinet claims that this interpretation of KRS 416.670 will force it to provide notice to every property-owner from whom it has ever condemned property. We believe that this dire forecast is based on an overly-broad reading of Kelly v. Thompson. Kelly v. Thompson does not hold that the right of repurchase provisions of KRS 416.670 apply to all condemnations, whether they occurred before or after the effective date of the statute. To the contrary, the Supreme Court held that the right to repurchase does not vest on the date of the condemnation, but upon the failure of the condemning authority to begin development within eight years. So long as the right to repurchase accrued after the effective date of the statute, the Supreme Court concluded that KRS 416.670 was not retroactively applied.
Until 1980, when the legislature amended KRS 416.670, property owners did not have a right to repurchase condemned property from the Cabinet. No such right could accrue because it did not exist until July 15, 1980. Therefore, under Kelly v. Thompson, KRS 416.670 applies only to claims which accrue after the effective date of the statute. As a result, we find that the Cabinet's fear of an undue burden is not well founded.
In conclusion, we find that the five-year statute of limitations applies to claims brought pursuant to KRS 416.670. A cause of action under this statute accrues eight years after the condemnor takes possession of the property. However, the statute of limitations does not commence to run until the former landowner is given actual notice of his or her right to repurchase under the statute.
Accordingly, we find that the Pike Circuit Court correctly held that Thompson's claim was timely. The judgment of the court in Appeal No. 2000-CA-002083-MR is affirmed. We further find that the Jefferson Circuit Court erred when it concluded that the Martins' claim was untimely. Hence, the judgment of the court in Appeal No. 2000-CA- 000640-MR is reversed, and this matter is remanded for a determination of whether the Martins are entitled to repurchase the property under KRS 416.670.
ALL CONCUR.
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